On 1st October, an interesting article in the Times proclaimed that “Wisdom is the path to a less lonely life”. The following day, Harvard Business Review published a piece entitled “Leaders Need to Harness Aristotle’s 3 Types of Knowledge”. One of these three types, the article explained, is “Phronesis … the perspective-taking and wisdom required to make decisions when competing values are in play — when the answer is not absolute, multiple options are possible, and things can be other than what they are.”
Admittedly, two swallows probably don’t make a summer any more than one does. But you have to admit, it is a bit of a coincidence. The HBR article is perhaps less of a surprise than the one from the Times. Leaders and managers have recognised the need for ‘practical wisdom’ or ‘tacit knowledge’ – my own PhD thesis cited the ideas of Michael Polanyi, a chemist and philosopher who attempted to bridge the gap between fact and value, science and humanity.
But following up the Times articles opened up for me a hitherto unknown area of ‘evidence-based wisdom’, and the research results of a growing team of researchers studying both psychological and neurological aspects of practical wisdom.
The two articles draw out the importance of wisdom from a secular point of view for everyday life as well as for managers and leaders. But religions also emphasize the centrality of wisdom to a life lived well in studies such as David Ford’s “Christian Wisdom”. As a Christian Lay Preacher, I have often had occasion to include references and insights into sermons and Bible studies.
That is why this new web site and blog seeks to create a shared space for all these three groups of people – managers, Christians, and all who are concerned with living their lives well.
It is designed under the premise, that in the complex and ever-changing world that we live in, in order to live up to the tag “wise people” ( as suggested by the title of our species, homo sapiens) we need not only Aristotle’s three kinds of knowledge (technical, scientific and ‘phronesis’) but knowledge from diverse disciplines in the fields of science, social science, the humanities and theology.
Hi Terry,
Wisdom has always been fashionable … but only to those that are wise. How does one become wise? Well, life’s experiences and observations come to mind. Applying a more wholistic view to life’s more complex situations seems to work well, then applying life ‘s experiences (good and bad) provides a sense of wise calmness and enhances the opportunity for success.